BRIT Awards 2025 announce Rising Star shortlist

The shortlist for the BRIT Awards 2025‘s Rising Star category has been revealed – see the list below.

• READ MORE: BBC Sound Of 2025 stars Good Neighbours: “We want to be ‘that’ festival band”

Today (November 26), the BRIT Awards have revealed the three acts who have made the cut for the Rising Star award. The three nominees for Rising Star 2025 are Elmiene, Good Neighbours and Myles Smith.

The winner will be announced on December 5 via BBC Radio 1’s New Music Show with Jack Saunders at 6pm GMT.

As with all past iterations of the Rising Star award, the shortlist was decided upon by a panel of music journalists, radio and music TV station bosses, songwriters, producers and live bookers.

Elmiene said in a statement of his nomination: “I’m extremely grateful to be nominated for the Rising Star award. If I could put the feeling of being nominated into words, I would say it’s like being completely satisfied with a meal you bought and then finding out it comes with dessert and a drink. Didn’t know it could get any better.”

• READ MORE: Elmiene – ‘Anyway I Can’ review: a heartwarming record laced with musical magic

Good Neighbours said: “The BRITs have always been a huge dream for both of us growing up. We started Good Neighbours purely for the fun of it, so to be up for an actual BRIT award at this stage in our career is the biggest honour. Thank you.”

Myles Smith commented: “I’m incredibly honoured to be nominated for the BRITs Rising Star award. Growing up in Luton, I started playing pubs and open mic nights when I was just 12 and music quickly became my way of understanding the world and connecting with others. This recognition feels like a reflection of that journey – the highs, the challenges and the incredible people who’ve supported me along the way. Thank you for seeing me, for listening and for believing in the music. It means the world.”

The 2025 nominees join an esteemed and acclaimed list of acts who have been nominated for the award since its inception in 2008. Past winners include Adele, Sam Smith, Florence & The Machine, Sam Fender, Ellie Goulding, Jessie J, Jorja Smith, James Bay and most recently The Last Dinner Party.

Past nominees include Duffy, Foals, James Blake, The Vaccines, Anne Marie, Dua Lipa, Years & Years, Lewis Capaldi, Rina Sawayama, Nia Archives and more.

The BRIT Awards 2025 with Mastercard will take place on March 1 at the O2 Arena, and will broadcast live on ITV1 and ITVX. Next year’s awards will also include a brand new trophy design being created by Gabriel Moses. The 16 categories being spotlighted at next year’s ceremony have also been revealed – though its nominees have not.

The BRIT Awards’ Rising Star shortlist comes just days after the BBC revealed its longlist for the Sound Of 2025, which also includes Good Neighbours and Myle Smith alongside Chappell Roan, English Teacher, KNEECAP, Ezra Collective and more.

The BBC Sound Of 2025 list has since courted controversy after a rule change that has been criticised by the public. Typically a list used to spotlight rising talents, the 2025 list now includes artists who have already experienced major success within the industry.

It was previously a rule of the Sound Of list that an artist would not be eligible if they had been the lead on a UK Number One or Number Two album by the cut-off point. However, this year that rule has changed so that an artist “cannot have had more than two Top 10 albums in the UK Official Albums Chart” by 30 September 2024.

Fans have deemed the BBC Sound Of 2025 list as “a MASSIVE kick in the teeth to any genuinely new act” – see more reactions here.

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